Director, Payloads Systems Integration and Test

About Varda

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.

From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.

Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.

Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About this role

• As Director of Payload Systems Integration and Test, you will lead and grow a team of multidisciplinary engineers responsible for end-to-end mission success of a diverse portfolio of payloads, such as inertial, RF, and optical sensors and communication systems, as well as various types of pharmaceutical processing payloads. This role combines deep technical authority with team leadership, product definition, and customer delivery
• responsibility. You will own the successful execution of multiple concurrent payload missions, delivering flight hardware that operates in orbit, survives hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth – reliably and at scale.

Your team will serve as the technical bridge between each payload and the Varda vehicle, defining interfaces, planning and executing payload integration and test campaigns, coordinating in-orbit operations, and ensuring safe recovery of payload data and hardware. When payloads require special accommodations or vehicle modifications, your team will work across the vehicle engineering team to scope and implement these changes.

As Director, you will manage day-to-day execution across the team, in addition to hiring and headcount planning, new project scoping, and development of standard workflows and processes. You will also own and evolve the Varda Payload User Guide, defining standard interfaces and accommodations for hosted payloads, and developing a roadmap that expands the set of customers and use cases Varda can support while simultaneously growing mission cadence.

Responsibilities

Build and lead the Payload Systems Integration & Test team, hiring and developing engineers across a range of experience levels

Own integration and test for Varda's internal pharmaceutical processing payloads: test planning, functional and process verification, contamination control, and environmental qualification of fluidic and thermal flight hardware

Partner closely with Payload & Mechanisms development engineers on pharma payload designs, staying engaged early enough in the design cycle to shape testability, and supporting the fast iteration these programs run on

Take ambiguous customer mission objectives and determine how to meet them with the existing platform, or scope the non-recurring engineering needed and bring in the right development teams

Own payload interface definition and requirements: ICDs, interface verification, and the standards documentation (payload user guide) that external customers and internal teams work from

Plan and execute payload integration and test campaigns across both lines, including interface verification, functional testing, and environmental qualification (random vibration, thermal vacuum, EMI/EMC, shock)

Work with the production crew building and integrating payload hardware, and establish the cleanroom practices both lines depend on

Coordinate with Vehicle Integration & Test as a sister function, sharing practices and infrastructure where it makes sense while maintaining distinct practices where appropriate

Work with Mission Management to hit contract milestones and customer commitments, and serve as the technical face to customers through the mission lifecycle

Support payload operations through flight, reentry, and recovery

Establish and mature the processes, documentation, and cleanroom practices that let payload integration scale with mission cadence

Basic Qualifications

10+ years of spacecraft or aerospace hardware experience spanning integration, test, and mission execution

Demonstrated ability to take poorly-defined technical problems and turn them into executable plans, interfaces, and requirements

Hands-on experience planning and running environmental qualification campaigns on flight hardware

Strong interface engineering background: ICDs, requirements flow-down, interface verification across organizational boundaries

Experience leading engineers, including hiring and developing early-career talent

Breadth across mechanical, thermal, fluidic, electrical, and software interfaces, with enough depth to be a credible technical backstop for the team

Cleanroom operations and contamination control

Customer-facing experience: scoping work, managing execution schedules, setting expectations, and negotiating technical commitments

B.S. in a relevant engineering discipline

Preferred Qualifications

Active TS/SCI security clearance, or eligibility to be granted one

Test and verification experience with fluidic, thermal, or process hardware (pharmaceutical, biological, chemical, or life sciences payloads)

Experience with payload accommodation on a hosted or rideshare platform

Reentry, recovery, or landed-vehicle experience

Defense or government program experience

Experience standing up a new function or team

M.S. in aerospace, mechanical, chemical, or systems engineering

Pay Range

Salary range: $185,640 - $251,160 /per year

This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA

Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance

You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

Benefits

Consider your benefits covered for launch. At Varda, we invest in benefits and perks that support your health, financial well-being, and life beyond work. Benefits vary by position, with packages designed specifically for our regular full-time employees and interns.

Regular Full-Time Positions:

Health & Wellness

Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays

100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options

Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance

$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses

12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)

Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic

Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents

Financial & Retirement

Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up

401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)

$20/pay period cell phone reimbursement

Relocation support for new hires, if needed

Workplace Experience & Perks

Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly

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